JP3342537B2 - Spin processing device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a spin processing apparatus for processing a substrate by rotating a substrate using a rotating table.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, in a process of manufacturing a liquid crystal display device, there are a film forming process and a photo process for forming a circuit pattern on a glass substrate as a work.
In these processes, the processing of the substrate and the cleaning are repeatedly performed. In order to dry the washed substrate or apply the resist evenly on the substrate, the substrate is held on a rotating table, rotated with the rotating table, and the centrifugal force generated thereby is used. I have to.

FIG. 5 shows a conventional spin processing apparatus. In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a cup. The cup 1 includes a lower cup 2a and an upper cup 2b. The lower cup 2a is formed in a bowl shape with an open upper surface, a through hole 3 is formed at the center of the bottom, and a receiving flange 4 is formed at the upper edge.

The upper cup 2b is formed in a ring shape with an outer peripheral surface having a convex curved surface, and a coupling flange 6 is provided on the outer peripheral surface via a mounting member 5. The upper cup 2b is integrated by joining the connecting flange 6 to the receiving flange 4 via a packing 7 and connecting them with a plurality of wing nuts 8.

A drive shaft 11 of a motor 9 is inserted from the through hole 3 formed in the lower cup 2a into the inside of the cup 1. A rotating table 12 is provided at the upper end of the drive shaft 11.
Is installed. On the upper surface of the rotary table 12, a support pin 13 and guide pins 14 project radially outward from the support pin 13 at predetermined intervals in the circumferential direction. The support pins 13 support the lower surface of the substrate 15 supplied to the upper surface of the rotary table 12, and the guide pins 14
Engages with the outer peripheral surface of the substrate 15 to prevent the substrate 15 from moving on the rotating table 12.

A plurality of drainage ports 17 are provided on the bottom wall of the lower cup 2a, and the drainage ports 17 are connected to a tank (not shown) by piping. Further, a plurality of exhaust ports 16 are connected to the peripheral wall of the lower cup 2a at predetermined intervals in the circumferential direction above the lower end of the upper cup 2b, and these are connected to an exhaust pump (not shown) by piping.

According to the spin processing apparatus having such a configuration, when the substrate 15 is dried or when the resist dropped from a supply nozzle (not shown) is uniformly distributed on the substrate 15, the motor 9 is used. To the drive shaft 1
Rotate the rotary table 12 attached to 1.

When the rotating table 12 is rotated to generate a centrifugal force, the centrifugal force causes the cleaning liquid adhered to the upper surface of the substrate 15 to be dried or the resist dropped on the upper surface to be uniformly distributed. And so on.

When the rotary table 12 is rotated, the rotation not only generates a centrifugal force but also prevents the flow of air in the cup 1 due to the rotation of the rotary table 12. Absent. The air flow is drawn into the exhaust port 16 from the outer peripheral surface of the rotary table 12 as shown by an arrow A in FIG.

It is only necessary that the air flow A be in a state without disturbance. The air flow A flows downward from the outer peripheral surface of the rotary table 12, passes through the lower end of the upper cup 2b, and then moves upward. The flow direction is changed toward the outlet port 16 and flows out of the exhaust port body 16, and the path is in a bent state.

Therefore, when the air flow A is generated by the rotation of the rotary table 11, the air flow A does not easily flow to the exhaust port body 16, so that one of the air flows A generated by the rotation of the rotary table 12 is generated. The part has an air flow as shown by an arrow B in FIG. That is, the air becomes turbulent. Due to the generation of the turbulence B, a part of the air flows toward the upper surface of the substrate 15 held on the rotary table 12, so that the fine particles contained in the air easily adhere to the upper surface of the substrate 15, The substrate 15 may be contaminated.

[0012]

As described above, in the conventional spin processing apparatus, a part of the air flow generated by rotating the rotary table becomes turbulent and is held on the upper surface of the rotary table. Therefore, the fine particles contained in the air may easily adhere to the substrate.

The present invention has been made based on the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is that even if an air flow is generated by rotating a rotary table, the air flow becomes a turbulent air flow toward the upper surface of the substrate. It is another object of the present invention to provide a spin processing apparatus in which fine particles are not easily attached to a substrate.

[0014]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a spin processing apparatus for performing a predetermined process on a substrate by rotating the substrate. A drive shaft that is inserted into and driven to rotate, a rotary table connected to one end of the drive shaft and holding the substrate on the upper surface, and a lower portion of the inner bottom of the cup lower than the rotary table. Setting
Vignetting, the integer Nagareban having inlet et provided on the rectifying plate
The rotation of the rotary table causes the rotation in this direction.
A guide plate for introducing a flow of Jill air to the inlet, the introduction by the guide plate provided at the bottom of the cup
And a discharge port for discharging air introduced into the mouth to the outside of the cup.

[0015]

According to the above construction, the air flow generated by the rotation of the rotary table smoothly flows into the introduction portion formed in the current plate, so that the generation of turbulent airflow toward the upper surface of the substrate is prevented, and Fine particles hardly adhere to the upper surface.

[0016]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. The spin processing apparatus shown in FIG. 1 is, for example, a substrate of a liquid crystal display device or a substrate 20 such as a semiconductor wafer.
The apparatus is provided with a cup 21. The cup 21 includes a lower cup 22a, an upper cup 22b, and an inner cup 22c. The lower cup 22a has a bowl shape with an open upper surface, a seal packing 23 is attached to the upper edge thereof, and a through hole 24 is formed in the center of the bottom wall.

The drive shaft 2 of the motor 25 is
6 through which the drive shaft 26 protrudes into the cup 21.
Is connected to a disk-shaped connecting member 28 provided on the lower surface of the rotary table 27. A circumferential groove 29 is formed around the lower surface of the connecting member 28, and the upper end of the peripheral wall 24 a forming the peripheral edge of the through hole 24 is inserted into the circumferential groove 29.

The through hole 24 in the bottom wall of the lower cup 22a
A shielding ring 31 is provided at the periphery of the connecting member 28 so as to cover the outer peripheral surface of the connecting member 28. Thereby, the substrate 2
As will be described later, it is possible to prevent liquid splashing into the cup 1 from wetting the motor 25 through the through hole 24 when the 0 is dried.

A plurality of support pins 32 and a plurality of guide pins 33 located radially outward from the support pins 32 are provided on the upper surface of the rotary table 27 at predetermined intervals in the circumferential direction. I have. The support pins 32 support the lower surface of the substrate 20 supplied to the upper surface of the rotary table 27, and the guide pins 33 engage with the outer peripheral surface of the substrate 20,
0 is prevented from moving on the rotating table 27.

A rectifying plate 34 formed of a conductive material in a ring shape is disposed on the inner bottom of the lower cup 22a so as not to be charged. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a plurality of inlets 35 having one end open to the outer peripheral surface of the rectifying plate 34 are formed at predetermined intervals in the circumferential direction. A guide plate 36 is provided at a portion of the inlet 35 on the upper surface of the current plate 34. One end 36a of the guide plate 36 is fixedly joined to the upper surface of the rectifying plate 34, and the other end 36b located on the upper surface side of the inlet 35 is bent at a predetermined angle.

That is, the guide plate 36 is connected to the rotary table 2.
7 is driven to rotate in the direction indicated by the arrow X in FIG.
The airflow C generated in the same direction is bent so as to easily flow into the introduction port 35. In other words, the inlet 3
The guide plate 36 and the guide plate 36 form an introduction portion 37 that opens in a direction in which the air flow C generated by the rotation of the rotary table 27 is introduced.

On the lower surface of the rectifying plate 34, support members 38 each of which is formed by bending a strip-shaped plate are provided at portions corresponding to every other inlet 35 in the circumferential direction. The support member 38 supports the current plate 34 at a predetermined height at the inner bottom of the lower cup 22a, and also supports the inlet 35
Is guided along the circumferential direction on the lower surface side of the current plate 34.

A discharge port 39 is formed at the bottom of the lower cup 22a at a position corresponding to the introduction port 35 where the support member 38 is not provided. An outlet body 40 is connected to each outlet 39. Discharge body 40
Is connected to a discharge pipe 41, and each discharge pipe 41 is connected to a tank 43.
Is in communication with

The upper cup 22b is detachably attached to the upper end of the lower cup 22a. The upper cup 22b has a ring shape in which a portion corresponding to the rotary table 27 is open, and a lower end thereof is liquid-tight and detachably attached to a packing 23 provided on an upper edge of the lower cup 22a. An engaging portion 44 is formed to be freely engaged.

The inner cup 22c has a ring shape in which the outer peripheral surface is formed into a convex curved surface, and the lower end thereof is connected to a holding ring 45 having a crank-shaped cross section attached to the inner peripheral portion of the upper cup 22b. Are held together. That is, the inner cup 22c is provided so as to cover the peripheral portion of the rotary table 27.

Next, the case where the substrate 20 supplied to the rotary table 27 is dried by the spin processing apparatus having the above configuration will be described. When the substrate 20 which has been cleaned by the cleaning liquid and is wet is supplied to the rotary table 27, the motor 25 is energized and the rotary table 27 is supplied.
Is driven to rotate. As a result, a centrifugal force acts on the cleaning liquid attached to the substrate 20, so that the cleaning liquid is removed by the centrifugal force and the substrate 20 is dried.

The cleaning liquid removed from the substrate 20 drips on the inner surface of the cup 22c, passes through the inlet 35 of the rectifying plate 34 provided at the inner bottom of the lower cup 22a, passes through the outlet 39 and the discharge pipe 41, and is then removed from the tank. It is discharged to 43.

On the other hand, if the rotary table 27 is driven to rotate, an air flow C in the same direction as the rotation direction of the rotary table 27 is generated by the centrifugal force at that time. The air flow C generated by the rotation of the rotary table 27 is guided downward by the suction force of the pump 42 on the inner peripheral surface of the inner cup 22c as shown by the arrow in FIG. It flows into the opened introduction part 37. That is, the air flow C
Is guided by the guide plate 36 bent at a predetermined angle with respect to the flow direction, and flows into the inlet 35 formed in the rectifying plate 34.

The airflow C that has flowed into the inlet 35 is
4 flows along the supporting member 38 on the lower surface, flows out from the discharge port 39, passes through the exhaust pipe 41, and is radiated to the outside air via the tank 43 and the exhaust pump (not shown).

That is, the air flow C generated by the rotation of the rotary table 27 is formed on the current plate 34 provided on the inner bottom of the lower cup 22a so as to open in the direction in which the air flow C is introduced. Since the gas smoothly flows into the introduced introduction portion 37, the gas is smoothly discharged without generating turbulence. This prevents an air flow from flowing toward the substrate 20 held on the upper surface of the rotary table 27, so that the fine particles contained in the air hardly adhere to the substrate 20.

The upper cup 22b is detachably engaged with the lower cup 22a. Therefore, the upper cup 22b can be easily attached and detached at the time of maintenance, so that workability can be improved. Further, since the inner cup 22c is held inside the upper cup 22b, even if the substrate 20 is broken and scattered while the rotating table 27 is being rotated to dry the substrate 20, the fragments are broken. Hits the inner cup 2c and does not directly hit the upper cup 22b. Therefore, since the upper cup 22b is not damaged, not only the appearance is maintained in a good state, but also it is not deformed and cannot be attached to and detached from the lower cup 22a.

The cleaning liquid scattered when the substrate 20 is dried and the air flow C generated by the centrifugal force are discharged through the same discharge pipe 41 communicating with the introduction portion 37 formed in the current plate 34. I made it. Therefore, simplification of the piping structure can be achieved as compared with the case where the discharge of the cleaning liquid and the discharge of the air flow C are separately performed.

FIGS. 4A and 4B show a case where a substrate is dried by a spin processing apparatus of the present invention and a conventional spin processing apparatus. The result of measurement of fine particles (particles) at positions is shown. Note that an exhaust pressure of 4 mmaq was applied to the cup. In each figure, the vertical axis represents the number of fine particles, and the horizontal axis represents the elapsed time after rotating the rotary table.

According to the apparatus of the present invention shown in FIG. 4A, there is almost no generation of fine particles having a particle size of 1 μm or more.
The generation of fine particles of 0.3 μm or more was slightly to some extent within 3 to 6 minutes after rotating the rotating table.

In the conventional apparatus shown in FIG. 4 (b), it is measured that, after rotating the rotary table, a large number of fine particles having a particle diameter of 1 μm or more and fine particles of 0.3 μm or more are generated immediately. It was found that the number of these fine particles tended to increase with time.

From the above measurement results, it can be said that the apparatus of the present invention has a configuration in which fine particles hardly flow above the substrate, as compared with the conventional apparatus. In other words, by rotating the rotary table 27, even if the air flow C due to the centrifugal force is generated on the outer periphery, the generation of the turbulence toward the upper surface of the substrate 20 can be suppressed by the air flow C.
It can be considered that the number of fine particles in the upper part of the graph decreases.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, but can be variously modified within the scope of the invention. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the washed substrate is dried is described. However, even when the processing liquid such as a resist is uniformly sprayed on the substrate, if the apparatus of the present invention is used, the processing liquid may contain fine particles. Adhesion can be prevented.

[0038]

As described above, according to the present invention, the current plate is provided at a position lower than the rotary table at the inner bottom of the cup .
The direction of rotation is changed by the rotation of the rotating table
A guide plate for introducing the flow of air generated in the cup is provided, and the air introduced into the inlet is discharged to the outside from the outlet provided at the bottom of the cup by the guide plate. That
As a result, the rotation of the rotary table
The air flow forced to the inlet by the guide plate
And is discharged to the outside through the discharge port.
A turbulent air flow can be prevented from being generated. Turbulence
If it is possible to prevent the occurrence of
Air flow toward
Particles can be prevented from adhering to the substrate.
You.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of an apparatus showing one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a part of the current plate.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of a part of the current plate.

FIG. 4 is a graph showing measurement results of the state of generation of fine particles above a substrate in the apparatus of the present invention and a conventional apparatus.

FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view of a conventional device.

[Explanation of symbols]

Reference Signs List 20 ... substrate, 21 ... cup, 25 ... motor, 26 ... drive shaft, 27 ... rotary table, 34 ... rectifier plate, 35 ... inlet, 36 ... guide plate, 37 ... introduction part, 41 ... discharge tube .

────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Yoshiaki Kurokawa 1000-1, Kasama-cho, Sakae-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa Inside the Ofuna Plant of Shibaura Works Co., Ltd. (56) References JP-A-4-247264 (JP, A) 3-80527 (JP, A) Japanese Utility Model 3-109676 (JP, U) Japanese Utility Model 3-128472 (JP, U) Japanese Utility Model 4-111728 (JP, U) Japanese Utility Model Application 57-183744 (JP, U.S.A.) U) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) H01L 21/027 B05C 11/08 G03F 7/16 H01L 21/304

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] In a spin processing apparatus for performing a predetermined process on a substrate by rotating the substrate, a cup, a drive shaft that is inserted through a center of a bottom of the cup into the inside and is driven to rotate, A rotating table connected to one end of the cup and holding the substrate on the upper surface, and a lower portion of the inner bottom of the cup than the rotating table.
Vignetting, the integer Nagareban having inlet et provided on the rectifying plate
The rotation of the rotary table causes the rotation in this direction.
A guide plate for introducing a flow of Jill air to the inlet, the introduction by the guide plate provided at the bottom of the cup
A discharge port for discharging air introduced into the mouth to the outside of the cup.